April 2010

I’ve now broken the month of April into two sections: This is Part 1 or you can view Part 2 (from April 16 – 30th) at April 2010 Part 2
Or jump forward to May 2010

Thursday, April 1:

It was hard to say goodbye to Akumal. Wendy showed up early in the morning with her daughter Wendy, her son Epy and her sister Cindy, all to say goodbye to Hannah. Well perhaps Robert and I too.  It was a beautiful morning and so we were all sad to go.  Mirna’s friend showed up with his taxi and after only a small hassle with an exit fee we had to pay to leave Mexico, we were away.  Landed in Toronto for a couple of hours and then off to Rome.

April 1: Goodbye to Gloria, Wendy and family.

April 1: Goodbye to Gloria, Wendy and family.

Friday, April 2:

Italian is such a pretty language.  We’ve landed in Rome, found our apartment which is a little ways away from the central area of Rome, bought a transit pass for the week, and taken our first tram ride into town. It is perfect here. This is such a beautiful city a true feast for the eyes.

Our neighbour, Bronco showed us around the neighbourhood and helped us get groceries but we had our first dinner out downtown, pasta of course in  Piazza, well, to be honest I’m just not sure. This is a huge city and I’m not yet oriented.

April 2: Our neighbour Bronco, one week later.

April 2: Our neighbour Bronco, one week later.

Saturday, April 3:

Used our tour book to choose a neighbourhood walk through the Jewish Ghetto, not such good planning for a Saturday, but it was all interesting none the less. Rome streets twist and turn, with few street signs. The only really consistent thing is the presence of graffiti everywhere.  This whole city is pretty much like all that we loved about Palma: the narrow streets, the tucked away restaurants, bars and shops, the flower boxes, the colors, the mishmash of paving stones going every which way, the artist studios, the animated people, all like Palma but on steroids… faster, bigger, livelier, more colorful.

From the Jewish Ghetto we walked through the ruins around the Teatro di….? across the bridge to Tibor Island, now all hospital, and around across the next bridge to a little square with two temples, one dedicated to Hercules and the other to P… From there you can see By then we were pretty tired so we headed home knowing there is still so much to explore.

April 3: Layers of ruins

April 3: Layers of ruins

Sunday, April 4:

Tried to go to the catacombs today but being Easter Sunday, everything was closed. It was kind of cold and rainy all day and so we gave up on our original plan of heading over to the Vatican to “do” Easter with the Pope. It would have just been too cold and wet to be waiting out in St. Peter’s square with hordes of people.  The buses here are hard to figure out and so we took the bus and tram that we’re already used to riding into the center of Rome and then walked over to find the bus out to Via Attica, where the catacombs are. We ended up having a real adventure even though everything was closed. Wandered around outside the city for a bit. Caught a different bus back in to Termini station and then meandered back to L’argo Argentina through neighbourhoods full of alleyways and so much to see, even on a wet miserable day.  Even the view of the Forum and the Colosseum were impressive with grey skies and the pedestrian only sidewalk covered in a sea of umbrellas.

April 4: Even in the rain everything was amazing.

April 4: Even in the rain everything was amazing.

Monday, April 5:

Today was a day of miles of walking, wonderful sights, and a variety of tastes as we toured the Trastevere area and then the Campo de’ Fiori.  Of note was the Panificio la Renella, a little pizza bakery tucked away in the heart of Trstevere and the Blue Ice Ice cream shop just off of the Campo de’ Fiori Piazza. As well as the alleyways of both areas, the bridges and the piazzas everywhere, we also wandered up into the Parco Gianocolense and through the grounds of the Tiempetto and San Pietro in Montorio a church yard on the hill heading up to the park.

April 5: Blue Ice!

April 5: Blue Ice!

Tuesday, April 6:

So today was our Vatican day. Overall it was all truly impressive. Clearly though if the Catholic Church would step up and pay for all the Greek art they have in their possession Greece wouldn’t be having the troubles it’s having. Three sculptures stand out for me, the Bellvedere Torso, and the Laocoön and of course Michelangelo’s Pietro which I do think is probably the most beautiful sculpture I’ve ever seen.

In St. Peter’s Square we were invited to join a tour, which we did on the spot as the lines and crowds were overwhelming. The tour hustler promised that we’d bypass the lines and encouraged us to join Steven for the free part of the tour while we made up our minds. Steven was brilliant. A great voice, a good storyteller and a vast knowledge of history and all the little insignificant details, true or not, that drew us in. So in the end we toured the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel, not with Stephen, but Virginia who was also very good. We definitely felt that it was worth the money for the two hour tour although we saw only a limited part of the Museum, and so missed all of the Raphael rooms. Virginia, an art history major had a definite bias towards Michelangelo so at least made us feel that by not seeing the Raphael rooms we weren’t missing much. Seeing the Sistine Chapel after she’d explained what to look for made it really a treat.

From the Vatican we wandered over to Castel Sant’ Angelo, though we didn’t go in, and the Ponte S Angelo with its beautiful Bernini angel sculptures.

April 6: Virginia

April 6: Virginia

Wednesday, April 7:

This was our longest, fullest sight seeing day yet. We started the day with the Pantheon, Rome’s best preserved site, handed over to the Catholic Church in the 3rd century AD. It is a beautiful building full of beautiful marble and important artifacts such as Raphael’s tomb and a bronze bust of Raphael. From there we intended to head straight to Ancient Rome but once again we got caught up in the beauty of the little alleyways so we ended up wandering through Piazza Navona into the art market where of course we were waylaid. From there we headed again off through side streets, back to Piazzo Campo d Fiori to find the morning market still in progress, so that side tracked us once again. As we wandered through the market stalls I was reminded of Mallorca markets with their sense of order and patience. It was lovely just to browse and watch. On our way out from there we bargained over earrings and a ring with a young man from Afghanistan. I can only marvel at his mastery of English after only three months he claims, of schooling in English! Needless to say, he sold me the jewelery.

So our picnic lunch in the park, a stroll through the Jewish Ghetto again, this time on not on a Saturday so more full of life, then a few more back alleyways and finally we arrived at the Forum, late enough that there were no lines to the entrance. We purchased tickets and waltzed in. We wouldn’t have lasted long probably with the heat, the crowds and the complete lack of signage that Rome has to be famous for if we hadn’t have stumbled on Jason doing a free tour.

April 7: Jason at the Forum

April 7: Jason at the Forum

Jason works for the same tour company as the Vatican tour group that we happened on to yesterday. We recognized him as definitely Steve’s twin brother, which he turns out not to be though they are friends. Jason though claims to be “the” recommended tour guide in Rick Steeves tour books of Italy and we all believe him. He did a great free tour that makes the history come alive and certainly kept us engaged for probably an hour in total (the end of one tour and start of the next). From there, pretty much maxed out we proceeded on to the Colleseum sad to leave Jason behind, and then even took in what we could of Palatine Hill. As we trudged out we were all clearly tired. Hannah tried giving Robert the remains of our picnic lunch to fortify him for an evening foray on to the Spanish steps and the Trevi Fountain. At one point we almost lost him, but in the end we managed to find each other again way out of the way at some piazza on via XX Settembre. We’re still not sure how we all ended up out there other that by then Hannah was following Robert and I was following Hannah. We detoured up through the ritzy area of the Excelsior and Savoy hotels and then down to the Spanish Steps, then stopped for dinner before a last surge to the Trevi fountain. All in all, definitely too much for one day but all sights we needed to see in order to be able to say that we’d “done” Rome.

Thursday, April 8:

Today we hung out at home for a bit in the morning checking internet at the shop around the corner while Hannah worked on Social Studies, taking in a coffee and braving the italian women in the corner bakery to buy a loaf of bread. Finally we headed out on the bus to the San Callisto Catacomb where we just managed to catch the english tour just as it was leaving. Luckily I’d read in our guide book that as the tour groups are often big it is a good idea to stay as close to the guide as possible. Hannah, Robert and I did that well so even though it was indeed a large group, we felt a little as though we were having our own private tour. Adam, we all wished you were with us. Hannah thought that the catacombs were fascinating but would have been so much more fun to do with you and Rory to sneak off with. The tour limits the group to very carefully planned out routes. There was so much more one could have gone off and gotten lost in if one had the nerve. Hannah was really wishing we would have been more willing to be adventurous.

April 8: The catacombes in Rome are intriguing

April 8: The catacombes in Rome are intriguing

Nothing particularly eventful about the rest of the day other than a true “sardina” experience during our one metro ride from Circo Massimo to Termini station. From there we wandered back through the wonderful streets, soaking up a last late afternoon in Rome. Then hopped a bus to Largo d’ Torre Argentina, a quick detour back to Piazza Campo d Fiori to see if we could find the merchant who sold Hannah her ring yesterday. She’s already lost the stone. No luck with that, so back onto the tram and home.

Friday, April 9:

This has been one of our few days of travel where we are moving on with no idea of where we’ll be spending the night. It is a bit accidental that we’re doing this now but with no internet in the Rome apartment we’ve been unable to find something suitable so we decided to “wing” it.

By the time we were safely on the train on our way to Naples, Robert had experienced the smooth skill and professionalism of the gypsies. Two young women, one quite pregnant and one with baby attached in front, managed to board the train between Robert, Hannah and I, closing the train door on Hannah and I just after Hannah had called out the seat numbers to Robert. By the time Hannah and I figured out how to reopen the door and get on the train, Robert was trying to get into our compartment that the two women had moved into. He’s asking Hannah for the ticket, trying to explain in broken Spanish, Italian and some English that these are indeed our seats. They’re saying no and blocking me from getting in the compartment, just generally creating confusion we all realized afterwards. A split second later they pushed passed Hannah and were gone, away off the train leaving Robert with an open fanny pack and the sudden realization that he’d just felt himself being pickpocketed. Unfortunately for them, Robert had spent some time preparing for such an event. He’d bought a pin for his wallet pocket from a street stall, tied his fanny pack right to his belt and had absolutely nothing other than a pack of chewing gum in the outside fanny pack pocket. Not too much of interest for the women.

After that excitement the train ride itself was uneventful other than terrifying us into leaving the Garibaldi area where the train station is as fast as possibly. So we ended up on the advice of a fellow traveller pulling our suitcases through a posh area of Naples finding only high priced hotels. So back onto the metro heading closer back to the area we didn’t want to be in, and another wander through the streets, this time closer to the historic center so uneven paving stones, narrow winding streets, a zillion street vendors, crowds and scooters everywhere, but absolutely no hotels. After about five long blocks we asked and a bed and breakfast sign above our heads was pointed out but Robert and I didn’t really like the woman who tried to charge us what we thought was too much for the bed and breakfast, only to then tell us that no breakfast wasn’t actually included. So we came back down the stairs to the three men who had gathered apparently to discuss our dilemma and the godfather type one, an older, clearly well off gentleman told us he was going to walk us to another bed and breakfast not to far away. So he strolled us through three blocks of crowds, to the very central alleyway of Naples, at least I think that’s what he told us and dropped us off in an archway that looked like a garage. An attendant of some sort came out and assured us that there was a bed and breakfast upstairs, though at first we thought he said fifth floor. Another young man passing out of the area called the elevator and tried to convince us that we could put our bags in it and for 10 cents. We decided to carry our bags up with us. The marble staircase itself was 9 feet wide and at least two stories high, with a beautiful arched ceiling still with bits of paint from maybe two centuries before.

At the top another elderly gentleman opened the door and escorted us in. Then asked if we had a reservation. When I said no, he said “no problem, come in have some juice and then we’ll figure out what we’ll do. So he poured us each a glass of juice and sat down to tell us that he was “busy”, no room. But his daughter had another bed and breakfast even more in the center and he’d call her, which he did. Then, as if he hadn’t already done enough, instead of giving us directions he insisted on packing us up in his car and driving us to his daughters. When he learned we had only just arrived in Naples, he decided as well to give us a bit of a tour on the way. 82 year old Alberto was truly a gem!

April 9: Alberto

April 9: Alberto

Saturday, April 10:

April 10: The view from St Elmo's Castel

April 10: The view from St Elmo's Castel

Today we toured Naples, but this without knowing the history or much at all about anything. Luckily Robert, Hannah and I all just love to walk and gawk at absolutely everything. We all particularly love lovely alleyways, twisty-turny streets, out of the way neighbourhoods so long as we don’t feel too out of place, beautiful views, old ruins, castles, beautiful houses, flowers, gardens, the occasional church (those these may be over represented here in Italy), graffiti and, of course, bakeries. So we get along well when we’re out walking. I usually take the map in hand and Hannah and Robert just follow trustingly, occasionally asking for me to double check the map but mostly content so long as I include an appropriate number of food stops. Today was no exception. Everywhere we went there was tons to see. We found occasional signs noting the historical significance of this or that, particularly at St Elmo’s Castel.

April 10: At St Elmo's Castel

April 10: At St Elmo's Castel

April 10: On the stairway down from Vomero

April 10: On the stairway down from Vomero

We also had the pleasure of riding two different funicular trams. At the top of the first we were once again escorted through the streets by an older Italian gentleman who thought we had lost our way. This is about the third time we’ve been “taken in hand” and although we weren’t actually lost I didn’t dare refuse to accompany him when he started marching us off down the street to show us where we needed to go.

Of all the sights what stands out the most probably for all of us is the amazing staircase we found from the Vomero district back down to the center of town. It must have taken us 45 minutes to walk down the maze of stairway streets. A truly beautiful adventure.

Sunday, April 11:

Well I don’t think one could visit Naples without taking the time for a side trip to Pompei. The experience reminded us of the area around Chichen itza, with vendors and the tourist trade so built up around it all but we loved the ruins all the same, especially the plaster casts of the skeletons that they found when they dug out the site. It was a perfect day for browsing with the audio tour. I do wonder how long as a society we’ll keep these ruins as ruins. What occurs to me wandering through the site, here and in the Roman Colloseum, is how perfect the site is for real life. I’m reminded of knowing that we missed Elton John at Chichen Itza and wondering when he’ll play in the Colloseum or in the Pompei Theatre. And if he can play, what about watching a good soccer match? Or how would these wonderful block long houses be for a young professional couple looking for a first home. What would these streets be like with children running through them once again. We could insist that they be rebuilt in the fashion of the times but what great spaces for carrying on and how much do we as tourists really get from seeing the view of Pompei that some business director has decided we should see? Leaving the site, looking back, it is so clear that there is so much that visitors don’t tour. Likely there is a whole underground part built into the artificially terraced complex that is part of the archeological reserve. Interesting but why as a society are we choosing to preserve these indefinitely?

April 11: Ruins in Pompei

April 11: Ruins in Pompei

Well I don’t think one could visit Naples without taking the time for a side trip to Pompei. The experience reminded us of the area around Chichen itza, with vendors and the tourist trade so built up around it all but we loved the ruins all the same, especially the plaster casts of the skeletons that they found when they dug out the site. It was a perfect day for browsing with the audio tour.  I do wonder how long as a society we’ll keep these ruins as ruins.  What occurs to me wandering through the site, here and in the Roman Colloseum, is how perfect the site is for real life.  I’m reminded of knowing that we missed Elton John at Chichen Itza and wondering when he’ll play in the Colloseum or in the Pompei Theatre.  And if he can play, what about watching a good soccer match? Or how would these wonderful block long houses be for a young professional couple looking for a first home. What would these streets be like with children running through them once again.  We could insist that they be rebuilt in the fashion of the times but what great spaces for carrying on and how much do we as tourists really get from seeing the view of Pompei that some business director has decided we should see? Leaving the site, looking back, it is so clear that there is so much that visitors don’t tour. Likely there is a whole underground part built into the artificially terraced complex that is part of the archeological reserve. Interesting but why as a society are we choosing to preserve these  indefinitely?

Monday, April 12: I’m writing this on a train from Naples to Sicily.  Traveling around Italy with absolutely no comprehension of Italian is a little hard. For example, yesterday we sussed (is that even a word) the train station in Naples because we keep hearing about how dangerous it is. So without our luggage we bought our train ticket at a self service machine for this seven and a half hour train ride from Naples to Sicily.  This morning we came back and patted ourselves on the back that we’d managed to figure it all out, to buy the ticket, to find the train, to find the platform, to find the car, to find the seats. Then we’re riding and riding but the train stops. We know it is running late but Robert is getting really frustrated because they aren’t announcing anything and we seem to be held up in some station. They keep moving the train back and forth. He is trying to convince us that the train must be broken down.  Hannah is just sprawled across the seats in our compartment, I’m ignoring him and typing away on my computer and he’s getting more and more perturbed. Finally the lights in our car go out and we seem to be stuck in some sort of garage.  He’s convinced that the train has broken down and no one has told us anything. I’m not worried yet because I can still hear people in other compartments chatting away. No one else seems worried but I encourage Robert to go and take a look, to see what is going on.  He comes back a moment later to tell us that certainly something has happened. The engine is gone from our train and our car is now the front car. Nothing in front of us as if we’ve been parked! I have a moment of thinking my complacency has been misplaced. I should be worried, after all, we’ve put ourselves on this train in great faith with no idea really if it is even the right one. Maybe we should have done more asking, of course had there even been someone we could have asked. I am actually roused from my seat to dig out the ticket when Hannah comes back for her phrase book. Robert, convinced we’ve been parked near the water at the end of the line, perhaps in a broken down car (“I swear Betty, it’s almost as if we’d been transported back to the BC ferries”) has finally found someone to ask. I dig out the ticket with our unpronouceable destination stamped on it  and Hannah and Robert, with the ticket and the phrase book, have a broken english/spanish/italian/french conversation with someone. Moments later they are back in our compartment, embarrassed and sheepishly informing me that we are indeed on a ferry. We are, afterall, headed to Sicily.   And so it goes.

April 12: Could it look anymore like a ferry?

April 12: Could it look anymore like a ferry?

But tonight if our train makes the connection and we don’t miss our ride, and assuming of course that this is the right train, we’ll be in an apartment owned by an expat, so an American.  Is it bad to say I’m looking forward to an in-english conversation?

April 12: Our wonderful hostess, Lorrie

April 12: Our wonderful hostess, Lorrie

Tuesday, April 13: Giardini, where we are this week, is a sleepy little coastal town that obviously must come fully alive in the warm summer months.  It has a beautiful beach and a man-made breakwater to shelter the boats in the open bay.  The difference between here and Palma Nova in Mallorca, is that there is certainly more evidence that real people live here year round.  Right now, it feels comfortable with few tourists but the businesses beginning to prepare for the summer season. There is a church just down by the beach from here built to honor ‘San Pancrazio’, the person credited for bringing Christianity to Sicily after meeting Jesus in person and then later being baptized by Peter before being sent back to his home in Sicily. It is said that he was so taken with Jesus that he even converted the sailors on the boat bringing him home.

April 13: The beach in Giardini, with Taormina on the hill in the background

April 13: The beach in Giardini, with Taormina on the hill in the background

Just down the road on the point is a large tract of land with ruins which aren’t well preserved but offers some link to the history dating back to the 700’s BC.  This is the site of Naxos, a really old greek settlement later wiped out by the Syracusans.

Wednesday, April 14: We love being places where we get to know people. This place is no exception. Lorrie has welcomed us into her home and her life, inviting and encouraging us to join her on all and any outings.  Today she drove us up to her friend’s house in Linguaglossa, on the slopes of awesome Mt Etna, who unfortunately chose only to peek out for the clouds and mist, stopping to let us climb down to the lava formed gorge at Gola di Alcantara.  The rock formations are indeed amazing.

April 14: The gorge at

April 14: The gorge at

In Linguaglossa we joined Lorrie, Philip and Trente on a visit out to look at a small piece of property up for sale, then returned to their beautiful country estate house first to tour their new eco-swimming pool and see the vines terraced on the hill. From there we moved onto the outdoor patio for olive oil tasting, which led to wine tasting, which led to inside for dinner and wonderful stories and conversation.   We weren’t back home until 2 AM! Imagine.

April 14: Philip & Trente

April 14: Filip & Trente

Thursday, April 15: Hike to Taormina.  Taormina is an old village perched up on a mountain cliff overlooking Giardini Bay, among other things. While there is a road up and even a tram up, we elected to hike up as it is only about a 30 minute climb, so just good exercise. The town itself is touristy and expensive but a great destination for an afternoon stroll. Perched even higher up, overlooking Taormina is Castelmola.  We had thought we’d make it up there but the climb to Taormina was hot and so we’ve decided to leave it for another day.

April 15: The theatre

April 15: The theatre

In the evening Lorrie invited us to her place next door for pizza, wine and treats.  Filip and Trente came in for that as well as other friends, Marina, her two year old son Jonas & Paula. We had fun together, especially when Lorrie brought out her 56 year old twelve string Gibson guitar that Robert and Lorrie took turns entertaining us with.

April 15: A section of the theatre

April 15: A section of the theatre

On to Part 2 of April 2010
Or jump forward to May 2010

2 thoughts on “April 2010

  1. Hi, Betty – I am so intimidated by your traveling skills! How do you find all these places to stay and people you meet? Just amazing. Scily sounds gorgeous. My sister is going there next February. My grandmother was born there. My aunt went there abt 10 yrs ago and looked up the baptismal records in the village church and found her mother and all her mother’s sisters and brothers and parents, etc. My aunt said it was quite an emotional experience to look around this foreign land and feel so connected to it. Hope Hannah is feeling better. I just don’t know how any of you could go back to “normal” life after this year 🙂 Mary

  2. Thanks for the comment Mary. Yes Sicily is so gorgeous and hey if your grandmother was born here then you probably own a share of property here. We’ve learned that in Sicily it is very hard to disinherit family from one’s estate and so property passes on to all of the children in a family when landowners pass away. As a result the landscape is “littered” with abandoned properties where either none of the family want to “work” the land and maintain the property and/or the family can’t agree on who gets to do it. These properties tend to not even sell because in order to sell the property everyone has to agree to the transaction. Often property values are set not by market value but instead by what amount each owner expects to get for the sale and so may be completely out of line with what the property is worth on the open market. Of course this is all the story we’ve been told so who knows what the real story is, but it is a great explanation for the beautiful look of the landscape.

    As to the people we meet, I think that is still so much of what we’re all enjoying about this trip. We learn so much from the friends we make. We are so grateful to all who have welcomed us into their homes.

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